Friday, December 23, 2011

Nacimiento

 Every year in the Municipality, there's a competition between the offices of who can do the best nativity scene. Since we've been working with RAF a lot, we got him to beautify the City Services waiting room.


 Mary and Joseph.

 Arnold Millet, Chief of City Services, analyzes Raf's work.

 Everyone's involved!

 Extra grass from Areas Verdes, in charge of Lima's green spaces, was even used.

 Carlos Benites spent hours measuring these pyramidal shapes to make a star.

 So beautiful.

 The gals, MariLu, Beatriz and Evelyn.

Finally product. Surprisingly enough, we didn't win! A much more traditional nativity scene did.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

RAF Paints

  The Metropolitan Municipality of Lima's City Service sector, under the mayor Susana Villarán, has begun placing murals in unsanitary points of the city center as a beautification initiative. Here's our first intervention with grafitero, RAF, on a street where overconsumption of alcohol, prostitution, unruly garbage disposal and public urination were some of the main issues.

1. RAF took only a few days to complete this mural...


 2. The archangel is meant to inspire a sense of dignity and strength, crushing a demon with his left foot. The Catholic/Action Comic imagery has seemed to demand respect in this neighborhood. Finito!

 3. A happy neighbor commits to making sure the spot stays clean. It's right around the corner from the beautiful, bright white San Martín square, on Contumazá.

Municipal workers prep the wall of a quinta on Miró Quesada street in the historic Barrios Altos neighborhood. Many quintas were once large plantations on the outskirts of the city center that have now become shared housing. After a few too many wars, economic recessions and the terrorism of the 1980's, this neighborhood has lost its grandeur and has now become one of the most dangerous and neglected parts of Lima. But as it's only a few minutes from Lima's main square, part of UNESCO's World Heritage site, and has a rich criollo music history, Barrios Altos remains a powerful part of Lima's identity and has finally begun to get attention from its municipality. Here we begin our second intervention.

 ¡Gato !

Before... (the sidewalk was also repaired as part of the intervention).

 After.

 San Martín de Porres is a prominent AfroPeruvian saint in Lima. Since the quinta is named after him, the neighbors thought it appropriate, and inspiring, to have his portrait on their façade where garbage accumulated.

 Young residents at the Quinta San Martín admire RAF's piece.

After a few weeks, the Relima container placed across the street was being used instead of the sidewalk.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Friday, December 2, 2011

Ricardo's Confirmation


 Tío Daniel at Ricardo's confirmation in Pueblo Libre.

 Proud mamá, Kathya.

Tío Ronald.


 Ricardito.

 Vicky.



Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Outline by Aurelio de la Guerra

Aurelio de la Guerra, seasoned graffiti and video artist from the neighborhood of Barranco, paints the foot of a traditional scissor dancer on the side of the architecture building of the University Federico Vidareal. A self-proclaimed anarchist, he often works illegally and up until this point had never accepted payment for his mural work. He was the first artist I met with, and as head of collective Poco Floro in the Center of Lima, he gave me the down-low on Lima's graffiti community.

I'll be adding a new label, Lima de Reojo, for all street art related posts in, around, or about Lima's urban art scene. Reojo means what you see out of the corner of your eye and beckons you to look a second time.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Ceviche a lo Manolo y Témpora

 Mandarinas, mandarinas, mandarinas...

 Manolo prepares the many limes to "cook" the fish for the ceviche at his stand in the Callao market.


Mmmm... the very best. "¡Buenazo!"

Daniel, Manolo, Rodrigo and Tempora (with Piero Andrés in her belly) and I.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

On Journeys

 
Here I am, back at Daniel's house, back into the grey of Lima's winter. After my second trip to Cuba, I no longer feel like I'm on an adventure, backpacking around free as a bird. Raul and my serendipitous connection became more real, and our commitment to one another had us asking the hardest question-- Now what? How can we possibly be together? In Lima, I'm starting an art and urbanism project with the municipality and forsee staying for the next few months, at least.
"Life is a journey," some people say, and cliché as it might sound, it's true. Although I'm still in a foreign country, there's no longer the fresh feeling of a new place every couple of days, with new friends and food and sights. When everything around you is foreign, you have no choice but to be ultra-present. But the challenge is staying in the moment when everything seems the same...

Flauta Dulce

 Canción de despedida.

 After we say our goodbyes, and I pass through security, we spend a few minutes just waving goodbye until my eyes get too teary and I walk to my gate.

Not exactly comfort food.

QVA Libre

Dance party on my last night in town!

 Francesca from Italy.


 Mi amor.


A painting...